Trusted Computing Platforms: TCPA Technology in Context

Summary

Trusted Platform technology provides mechanisms that enable trust in information provided by a platform. This chapter addresses the issue of how a human user of a computing platform can use these mechanisms to gain reliable information about the platform he or she is using. Cryptographic processes must be executed in order to trust information provided by a Trusted Platform, and cannot be directly carried out by people. They have to be performed by another computing engine on behalf of human users. This chapter shows how the use of a smart card addresses this issue, and makes it possible for a human user to establish trust in a computer platform. An alternative is to use a dedicated portable Trusted Platform challenger with a user interface. ...